This review may contain spoilers
I always heard this was a good drama but I never got around to watching it until now in 2020. It didn't age much except for the bad storyline of the main character. I am a huge fan of Jang Hyuk and he acted superbly in this drama. However, I have a lot of issues with the storyline of this drama that is why I cannot rate it any higher. I didn't really care for the subplots and really disliked LDH's role in this drama. Why can't JH's character finally get something good in life? Instead of everything always going horribly wrong episode after episode...its very frustrating to watch. It makes me feel like I wasted my time. The whole show is a tease and I do not like to be teased. I mean the main characters in the love story don't meet until like ep 15?! C'mon! Watch with caution. Was this review helpful to you?
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STUNNING cinematography, grandiose scale and sweeping music.
This drama has the BEST camera work and camera quality I have ever seen, especially in the outdoor shots. I'm pretty sure there are some photography courses out there which feature the camera work in this drama, the visuals are breathtaking.Chuno is a drama that addresses the moral questions prevalent in the Joseon time period, chief among which is the issue of social hierarchy particularly with respect to the concept of slavery. The social justification for slavery is based on Confucianism and Buddhism; one seeks primarily to effect an ordered society by emphasising societal rituals and traditions, and the other is mainly concerned with purifying the individual; neither of the two directly address the moral ramifications of slavery.
It's against this backdrop that the story of Dae Gil the slavehunter is played out. Jang Hyuk is the shining star of this drama, his acting in this role is powerful and convincing, simply riveting. Dae Gil's quest for his lost love Un Nyun played by Lee Da Hae, is long and arduous, and it's this quest that kept me riveted for the first 9 episodes, the constant question of "will they meet or won't they" was addictive from the beginning, however at some point I began to feel as a viewer that the drama was yanking my chain and I lost some patience with the storyline.
There are several side plots going on around Dae Gil's quest and eventually the plots coalesce into one main plot, there are the political issues of the royal succession, the machinations of government officials with differing agendas and motivations, the competition for business between different slavehunters.
Overall the casting in this drama is strong; Dae Gil's brothers in arms Wang Son and General Choi are wonderfully portrayed by Kim Ji Suk and Han Jung Soo, I enjoyed the camaraderie and genuine bond shared by these three characters.
The character of Seol Hwa was a breath of fresh air infused into the above mentioned trio.
The female lead Un Nyun, played by Lee Da Hae, I found insipid for the most part, I don't know if this had to do with societal norms of women being dependent and soft, even if this is the case the way her character is depicted is incongruous within the setting of the drama. Un Nyun is always perfectly coiffed, with not a smear of dirt on her or her clothes and in the beginning she wore an all white outfit, she's even wearing makeup and lip gloss! This character for me is the biggest fail in the drama, her lack of expression and docility didn't work for me, there are moments when she expresses emotion, but unfortunately these were executed late into the drama and by that time I didn't care.
The second male lead, Song Tae Ha played by Oh Ji Ho presented a similar dilemma for me in that I found it really hard to understand why he did anything at all, there is a definite lack of character development, this may be due to the fact that his character wasn't given much meaningful dialogue.
The villain, Hwang Cheol Woong played by Lee Jong Hyuk, became irrationally villainous from one day to the next, his motivations were unclear even if his circumstances were well documented.
This show developed a pattern ( around the 14 episode mark onwards) of the main characters failing to communicate with each other, I suppose this is a kdrama staple to extend dramatic tension and to create antagonistic situations based on ignorance of facts and misunderstandings; however in this instance the device was used too often and affected my enjoyment of the main love storyline.
Personally, my expectations were disappointed by this drama, not because things always have to work out neatly but because the route the show took to get to it's ending was ultimately frustrating and annoying.
I've given this show an 8 out of 10 because I appreciate the large scale of the production as a whole, including the sweeping music, and also because Jang Hyuk is phenomenal in his role.
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This review may contain spoilers
This drama is great tbh. It has everything that a good show should have; good directing, good script and plot, excellent acting, attractive actors, great cinematography and not to mention a really awesome and amazing figting scenes.However, when the writer decided to go full head to make the main character as sad and tragic not to mention pathetic as it can be, the drama went downhill in my opinion -- it is no longer fun as the first 10 episodes. Not to mention when it start focusing on other sub-characters which we the viewers didnt really give a damn especially the political people slow conversations, I find that the drama lost its spark and I started fast forwording scenes that I never done in my 15++ years of watching kdramas. Come on, when you make the main character as engaging and full of depth as Dae Gil, would you like to watch how the drama spent half of its air time on other side characters that you don’t really care about?
By the time it reached the end, I actually wish Dae Gil to die since his fate is just too cruel or should I said ridiculous. It never happen to me before but this is a first time for me to wish the character that I like to just die and end everything.
I just don’t understand the writer insistence to make a tragic character more tragic than it already is. And for me to wish that kind of end for him, it says a lot about what I feel about the whole thing.
I just don’t cry anymore while watching the ending scenes. I'm just so pissed that I got no more tears to spill. I just hate Un Nyun and yeah I hate her and I feel like she is so selfish and unlikable. The fact that she actually leave him alone to fight while bringing her injured ‘husband’ or the fact she never address Dae Gil's devotion for her -- not even once and still expecting him to come and send her off says a lot about her personality. The writer really screw up big time in writing an admirable female characters. He was just too busy writing in depth the male characters in the drama that the only memorable female character in the whole series is the slave lady. >.>
Why would I root for Tae Ha when Dae Gil is the one who wanders around for 10 years searching for her? Why would I root for Tae Ha’s when it is Dae Gil who had a breakdown in the middle of the market after learning about the marriage? And why would I root for Tae Ha when he has problem with Un Nyun originally being a slave while Dae Gil never care about those status thing even from the very beginning? I just don’t understand the reasoning behind of wanting to make Tae Ha & Un Nyun happens. I JUST DON’T.
The drama is great but the insistence to make the main character to suffer THIS MUCH just leave a big distaste in my mouth. I just don’t understand the concept that Koreans have with their insistence of making their main characters suffers while never give them the justice that they deserve right until the end.
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Stunning
Thisbis why i love k-drama.Non of that chezzy hollywood bulls...
Her you get real emotional experiance.
The build up to the real bromance between the male actors are on an öevelni never seen before.
The pain i feel in my body during some partsnof the movie never before feelt that. The twist the desiers the hope you feel.
The remorce you sence.
And the action is fantastic and what i really love is they mix it up comedy in all this.
Fantastic.
This show you cant miss it Will be my favorit 4 the rest of my life
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This review may contain spoilers
Ok, the story is good, and the show is good, up until they put their shirts on, weather it is because there is less flesh to distract from the horrible story or the story truly goes down hill, who knows. What I do know is that the show proves a few things for me: Bros before hoes, romance makes you weak, bromance not only makes you strong, it makes you freaking psycic. On the whole? Worth the watch, but I was watching ep 23 and vomited, no, really. My car now has the badge. Take it as you will. My comment will have my spoilery dissertation that goes along with the bromance. Was this review helpful to you?
Everything... the story line, editing, directing, movie theme, music, soundtracks, scenario and the acting were superb.
Jang Hyuk and Oh Ji-Ho acting were shine and I truly loved all the cast members except Lee Da Hee.
she had a weak character and frustrating
I cried for Dae-Gil and for sad and painful ending.
finally , i just want to say i loved, i adored each and every scene of this drama.
And I wish all dramas could be as exciting as Chuno
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P.S it was a beautiful drama with some seriously beautiful men.
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Try again!
Practically, this drama is just a shirtless men expedition. It featured one of the most deplorable writing efforts and attempts to be edgy and hip with the times (2010). The drama had absolutely nothing to offer other than Jang Hyuk presence. They made Jang Hyuk as an edgy cringey whiny kid full of stupid one-liners and little to no real characterization put into him. This is a prime example for how to NOT write a broken and traumatized character. The drama had no real fights, just a handful of flashy dances in slow-mo with little to no weight to their strikes coupled with unfitting soundtrack for the fight or the moment. To reach the 24 episodes mark they had to stretch it thin, literally, with a lot of repeated scenes, extremely elongated stares and gazes, irrelevant dialogue and random slow-mo shots which all resulted in a poor utilization of the cinematography.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I started out watching this drama because, of course, Jang Hyuk. As usual Jang Hyuk doesn’t disappoint. However, this was the first drama of his that I’d love his character Dae Gil one minute and hate him the next. That’s how good JH was and I usually always root for whatever character JH portrays. Surprisingly this time, though, I didn’t want him to get the girl. However, I found myself more intrigued with Oh Ji-ho’s character Song Tae-ha and Lee Jong-hyuk’s character Hwang Chul-wong. They were friends who ended up on opposite sides.
I also enjoyed some of the side stories and supporting cast. The royal grandson was just adorable. Slaves fighting for their freedom. Dae Gil’s friends and loyal partners General Choi, Sang Won and Slanted Ear.
I’ll watch it again because of the main characters.
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Bullshit Cliche' plot progression .
You expected a cracker plot from the historical period dramas but this ain't the case here .
Acting is good ( Jang Hyuk is the reason why I started this drama )
, fighting scenes are good but the main thing Plot is bullshit .
I mean we all some cool cliche' plot but this one was total B****
Jang Hyuk must be high on D**gs to have signed this --_--
PS : Most of those who have rated this 10 are idiot female fans drooling over fighting scenes or cool male bodies .
This is not how a drama is to be judged .
I don't know if they all left there minds or threw and played soccer with it before rating this 10 . -_--
Watch this only if you're crazy or you wanna binge watch some shitty thing to on off you mind or divert it as we all do it sometimes .
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A voir, à revoir, à garder !!
Chuno, c’est une tragédie picaresque, flamboyante, une histoire d’amour, d’amitié, de mort dans un monde dur et farouche, soutenue de dialogues percutants et émaillés d’un humour souvent saignant et cru !Les sentiments y sont profonds, les passions violentes, les amitiés indéfectibles, les dévouements à toute épreuve, les ambitions féroces et l’amour fidèle jusque dans la mort…
Pour moi, c’est le sageuk (drama historique) par excellence !! On sent que la réalisation y a mis les moyens ! L’intrigue ne s’essouffle pas, les évènements s’enchaînent, les histoires s’entrecroisent et se complètent parfaitement, la distribution nombreuse et excellente ! L’émotion est souvent palpables, je ne peux résister aux larmes lors de certaines scènes de retrouvailles (épisode 20) où quand Dae Gil est confronté brutalement à la vérité (épisode 13) sans parler de la fin, avec la plus bouleversante des déclarations d’amour.
La galerie de personnages est riches en individualités spécifiques, commençant par les esclaves vivant leur propre destin, en passant par les chasseurs d’esclaves, les divers aubergistes ou commerçants, les soldats, les politiciens jusqu’au Roi, le kaléidoscope de la société de Joseon est complet !
Les trois héros masculin forment un triptyque parfait entre la passion (Dae Gil), la droiture (Tae Ha)et l’ambition (Cheol Wong). Les femmes sont la figuration de l’amour, noble et pur pour Hye Won, rédempteur et émouvant pour Seol Wha, et trivial, drôle et pourtant touchant pour les deux aubergistes. Et n’oublions pas le couple d’esclaves, extrêmement touchant. Cependant aucun des personnages n'est sans nuance, alternant la dureté parfois la cruauté avec un sentiment d'humnité comme l'amour du terrible Chol Wong pour sa mère ou le chagrin du brutal Ji Ho pour ses"petits cochons", ses homme...
Ce foisonnement de personnages est servi par une excellente distribution, les héros principaux d’abord, mais aussi une kyrielle de seconds rôles formidables, Song Dong Il en chasseur rival envieux, Ahn Suk Hwan le peintre d’images grivoises et son « enlèvement » raté totalement désopilant, le génial Ahn Kil Kang en chef de bande de voleurs succombant au charme d’un enfant, ou Cho Jin Woong en soldat au grand cœur amoureux d’une dame du palais et tous les nombreux autres sans oublier Kim Ah Eun, la danseuse prostituée qui s’attache aux pas des chasseurs, apportant fantaisie, humour et émotion.
Tous les codes du genre se retrouvent : les méchants détestables mais dont on finit par avoir pitié, les complots, les assassinats et quelques scènes de tortures assez réalistes, la belle héroïne, le héros magnifique sauf que là il y en a deux, et les seconds rôle et leur humour, qui équilibre le côté tragique. !
C’est un sageuk, donc ils y a des combats, et beaucoup, et ils sont parfaits ! Remarquablement filmés, avec des ralentis quand il le faut, une chorégraphie superbe avec coup de pied renversé, tourbillons, sauts périlleux et grand envol de jupe (oui, les hommes ont de longue robe et l’effet et superbe ! ) On a vraiment l’impression que les acteurs mouillent leur chemise, sont peu doublés, et y mettent toute leur force ! Les qualités d’athlète en Taekwando de Jang Hyuk y sont largement mises à contribution mais les autres ne sont pas en reste, particulièrement Oh Ji Ho et Lee Jeong Hyeok !
Le drama a été tourné majoritairement en extérieurs, ce qui nous donne la possibilité de visiter la Corée et ses paysages magnifiques, aussi bien en été que sous la neige !! Oui, pour une fois le déroulement des saisons est respecté : au début nos héros dépenaillés nous offrent un fan service éblouissant de tablettes de chocolat puis la froidure arrivant on peut voir que tout le monde s’habille, les haleines sont blanches et il y a de la neige partout ! Bon, si on connaît le pays, on peut s’interroger sur la vraisemblance des déplacements, (que font-ils dans la baie de Suncheon ?? ) mais après tout, qui s’en soucie ? Ce sont aussi les plus belles vues de Jeju-do que j’aie pu admirer tous dramas confondus !
La musique est originale et belle et soutient bien l’histoire.
La fin est grandiose, déchirante(cœur serré et larmes aux yeux) mais superbe, parfaite !
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